[geolang-comment] UN regional code vs. LOCODE (was: Quo vadis,GeoLang?)

[John Cowan <cowan@mercury.ccil.org>]

Lars Marius Garshol scripsit:

> | UN/LOCODE, an extension of ISO 3166-2 for cities (particularly port
> | cities), airports, and other notable locations.  This is maintained
> | by the United Nations.
> 
> I wonder if this is the same code set that is documented on these
> pages: <URL: http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/methods/m49.htm >. If it is
> we've already been thinking of covering it, since Murray Altheim
> already has done an initial proposal on it.

No, that is the U.N. code for regions *of the world*, which I summarized
in http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/geolang-comment/200202/msg00000.html

LOCODE is documented at http://www.unece.org/cefact/locode/service/main.htm
It provides codes of the form xx-yyy (where xx is an ISO 3166-1 country code)
for the seaports, airpors, road terminals, and rail terminals of the world.
This is intended to be used in international commerce, to eliminate such
problems as London vs. Londres, Livorno vs. Leghorn, Moscow vs. Moskva,
etc. etc.

For some countries, ISO 3166-2 information (on states/provinces/admin
districts) is also provided, which provides a partial source of
ISO 3166-2 codes, AFAIK not otherwise online.

> If not I think it sounds like a code set that might be useful, but I
> don't really know anything about it. Could you say something about who
> uses it?

Every part of the U.N. involved in trade.  Other IGOs such as the
EU statistical division.  Anyone who needs a list of important
cities.  Reuters (I hope).

-- 
John Cowan           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all.  There
are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language
that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.
        --_The Hobbit_